Chapter 344: A Narrow Escape

When the hemp garment old man’s words entered his ear, Lin Dong’s heart instantly started to tremble. Thankfully he was no greenhorn. Immediately, he calmed his heart before he promptly lifted his head and stared somewhat curiously at the latter: “Devouring Ancestral Symbol? What is that?”

When he saw Lin Dong’s puzzled expression, the hemp garment old man’s eyes narrowed a little. Along the way, he had already confirmed that Lin Dong was the one who left behind the Devouring Power…

“Haha, regardless of whether you have it, let this old man check to make sure.” As he smiled, a light beam suddenly shot out from that old man’s eyes. It directly enveloped Lin Dong and he immediately felt that the interior of his body seemed to be being rapidly scanned by the hemp garment old man.

The hemp garment old man’s actions caused Lin Dong to furrow his eyebrows. Immediately, he gently clenched his fist, which was concealed within his sleeves. However, he did not chose to avoid it. The old man in front of him was no ordinary individual. A Nirvana stage practitioner was extremely formidable and the current Lin Dong was definitely not his match.

The light beam continuously scanned Lin Dong’s body. However, as the scan continued, that old man’s eyebrows knitted together even more tightly. He had discovered that there was actually not a single trace of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol inside Lin Dong’s body.

“Could I really be mistaken?” The hemp garment old man’s eyebrows tightly knitted together. He had indeed sensed remnant Devouring Power from the mountaintop where Lin Dong had cultivated.

“Respected senior, could you be mistaken? What exactly is the Devouring Ancestral Symbol?” When he saw the hemp garment old man’s expression, Lin Dong secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Promptly, he begun to feign innocence as he asked inquisitively.

However, the hemp garment old man did not answer Lin Dong’s questions. His eyes were as penetrating as an eagle as stared right at the latter. Moments later, he slowly said: “Young friend, do you think you can accompany this old man?”

Even though he did not sense the Devouring Ancestral Symbol inside Lin Dong’s body, this hemp garment old man obviously did not plan to give up so easily. As long as there was a chance that the Devouring Ancestral Symbol was inside Lin Dong’s body, he was unwilling to give up.

“Senior one must be kidding. I do not know you and I have things to do. I am afraid you’ll have to forgive me for finding it difficult to comply.” When he heard these words, Lin Dong quickly took two steps back, before he cautiously said.

“Haha, do you know who this old man is? This old man belongs to the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace and based on your talent, I can bring you to the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace. It will be a great blessing for you.” That hemp garment old man faintly smiled.

“Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace?”

Lin Dong was slightly stunned. Even though this name was very unfamiliar to him, he could sense that it must be an extremely large and powerful sect. In fact, there was probably no sect in Great Yan Empire that could compare to them. However, since this old man was obviously here for the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, if he followed the old man, he would undoubtedly be placing himself in grave danger. Hence, he must not agree to this request.

“Please forgive this younger generation. I still have family in the Great Yan Empire and I have no wish to go elsewhere.” Lin Dong cupped his fist and replied.

“In the future, you will surely thank me.” When he heard these words, the hemp garment old man smiled as he shook his head. Promptly, he stretched out his palm and grabbed at Lin Dong.

As that old man hand grabbed out, the Yuan Power surrounding Lin Dong’s body instantly froze, directly transforming into a Yuan Power prison that completely trapped Lin Dong’s body within.

When he saw that the hemp garment old man had actually made a move, Lin Dong’s expression changed. Instantly, a resplendent glow erupted on his body like the rising sun as his fist ferociously flew forward.

“Bang!”

Lin Dong’s fist viciously slammed against the Yuan Power prison. With his powerful physical strength together with amplification from Yuan Power, his punch alone was able to forcefully rip apart a large hole in the Yuan Power prison. However, just as the large hole appeared, the hemp garment old man waved his palm before it returned once again…

“The power of your physical body is pretty strong. However, you are still unable to break free of this Yuan Power prison.” When he saw Lin Dong’s destructive power, shock flashed across the hemp garment old man’s eyes, before he promptly smiled dismissively.

“You!”

Right now, rage flowed in Lin Dong’s eyes while his gaze maniacally flickered. Moments later, he viciously gritted his teeth, before his fingertip quickly tapped across his palm. Then, a bloody glow suddenly erupted from within his sleeve. Instantly, a startling baleful aura swept forth.

Thanks to the assault of this baleful aura, that solid Yuan Power prison instantly exploded.

“Such a shocking baleful aura!”

As he felt the baleful aura, that old man’s eyes froze. Then, he immediately saw a blood red figure slowly emerge in front of Lin Dong.

“Is that… a Blood Soul Puppet?!”

As he stared at that bloody figure that overflowed with anger, the old man’s pupils suddenly shrunk. Promptly, his expression turned somewhat solemn. After all, he never expected that there would be such a guardian beast on Lin Dong!

After the Blood Soul Puppet appeared, Lin Dong quickly retreated. He knew that right now, the baleful aura inside the Blood Soul Puppet had not completely dissipated. Therefore, he could not control it for a long time. Nonetheless, he had no other choice as well. This hemp garment old man was simply too powerful and Lin Dong had to use his final trump card!

“Blood… kill!”

The instant the Blood Soul Puppet appeared, its bloody-red eyes immediately targeted that hemp garment old man. Its hoarse bloodthirsty voice immediately rang out, before it promptly transformed into a bloody flash and dashed forth. Immediately, an exceedingly powerful blood flash swiped towards the old man’s chest.

“Bang!”

When he saw that incoming Blood Soul Puppet, the hemp garment old man did not dare to underestimate it. Immediately, his hand clawed out as a flame-like fiery red Yuan Power immediately flashed forth. Promptly, it swelled till several hundred feet, before it viciously slammed against the Blood Soul Puppet just like a flaming hurricane.

“Boom!”

The bloody light shot out, directly ripping a several thousand meter long ditch on the ground. After which, the Blood Soul Puppet charged forward again and manically fought with that old man as if it could not feel pain.

A man and puppet battled. This was extremely destructive for this mountain range. Mountains after mountains crumbled due to their battle. This earth-shattering battle caused Lin Dong to continuously suck in deep breaths…

When that hemp garment old man attacked, Lin Dong could sense that he could easily use the Yuan Power between heaven and earth. His abilities were majestic and unmeasurable. Compared to the Manifestation stage, he was in a totally different level!

Due to that hemp garment old man’s attacks, the ferocious Blood Soul Puppet was continuously blown away. However, immediately after, it continuously dashed forth just as if it did not tire or feel pain. It was extremely troublesome.

Lin Dong’s face was somewhat grim as he stared at that earth-shattering battle. Suddenly, his heart moved. The reason why that old man continuously harassed him was because he previously sensed something. After Lin Dong contemplated for a while, he realized that he seemed to have used Devouring Power to swallow the remaining energy in the formation after he had finished cultivation.

“Could it be the remaining Devouring Power vibration caused that old man to deduce that even though I may not possess the Devouring Ancestral Symbol I must have some relation to the Devouring Ancestral Symbol?”

Lin Dong’s gaze rapidly flickered. He knew that he must quickly find a way to get rid of this old fellow. Else, his journey to the clan gathering would surely be delayed. This was not a situation that he wanted.

“Since you believe that I possess the Devouring Power, then let me demonstrate it to you!”

Lin Dong’s flickering gaze suddenly concentrated before his hand seals quickly changed. Soon after, a peculiar symbol appeared in his palm. This symbol was not the Devouring Ancestral Symbol but rather the “Ancient Swirling Symbol” that Lin Dong had previously cultivated. This Soul Symbol was derived from the Devouring Ancestral Symbol and it also possessed something similar to Devouring Power.

“Wu wu!”

The instant these Ancient Swirling Symbols appeared, a Devouring Power emerged from within.

“Devouring Power!”

The instant that power appeared, the eyes of that hemp garment old man, who was fighting with the Blood Soul Puppet, immediately glimmered. He took a step forward, his figure suddenly transforming into several blurry figures while he walked along a peculiar trajectory. In a blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Lin Dong.

However, the instant the appeared in front of Lin Dong and planned to snatch that symbol, he suddenly realized that the Devouring Power was simply too weak. Hence, it could not be the so-called Devouring Ancestral Symbol. Immediately, his outstretched hand froze…

“The remnant Devouring Power at the top of the mountain was left behind by these things? Not the Ancestral Devouring Symbol?” That hemp garment old man’s face turned slightly ugly. He stared at the Soul Symbol in Lin Dong’s palm while he somewhat angrily said.

“Senior, I have already told you, I do not know what the Devouring Ancestral Symbol is!” Lin Dong declared in a low voice. With a thought, the Blood Soul Puppet that he had been desperately trying to control, slowly landed at his side.

“Damn this bad luck!”

The hemp garment old man’s face was in flux, as his eyes continuously swept across Lin Dong and the Blood Soul Puppet beside him. In the end, he could not help but curse.

Lin Dong could also clearly sense the sudden decrease in Yuan Power vibrations from the hemp garment old man as he stealthily heaved a sigh of relief. Promptly, he waved his palm, before a white glow erupted forth and immediately recalled the Blood Soul Puppet. Lin Dong was keenly aware that if he did not recall it soon, the Blood Soul Puppet would lose control.

“I never expected that you would possess such a valuable treasure like the Blood Soul Puppet at such a young age!” The hemp garment old man said when he saw Lin Dong recall the Blood Soul Puppet.

“I got lucky.” Lin Dong smiled. The appearance of the Blood Soul Puppet had caused the hemp garment old man to become somewhat wary. Else, that old fellow would probably use Lin Dong to vent his anger.

“There is a faint smell of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol on your Soul Symbol. I believe that some expert must have derived it based on the Devouring Ancestral Symbol. How about this? Give me that item and I can try to use it to uncover information about the Devouring Ancestral Symbol.” The hemp garment old man looked at the Soul Symbol in Lin Dong’s hands, before he suddenly waved his palm and directly sucked the Soul Symbol into his palm.

“This old man does not like to take advantage of a younger generation member. This item should be sufficient compensation for your Soul Symbol.”

After he sucked away that Soul Symbol, that hemp garment old man waved his arm, before a jade scroll entered into Lin Dong’s hands. Without further ado, his figure flashed before he transformed into several blurry figures and disappeared into the night sky.

“Younger generation one, you are extremely talented and you must be an elite in your generation in the Great Yan Empire. I believe that you will be there for the Hundred Empire War. We will likely meet again in future…”

As his figure disappeared, the hemp garment old man’s voice echoed out.

Lin Dong’s hand gripped onto that jade scroll as he stared at the night sky, where that old man had disappeared. Moments later, cold sweat poured forth like rain on his forehead. This time around, he had really been dancing around a knife’s edge…

“That stupid old fart…”

Lin Dong gently gritted his teeth. He was not acquainted with that old ghost and yet he nearly lost his life. It seems like in this world, strength was the most important thing. If he did not have the Blood Soul Puppet as a deterrence, he would likely be in grave danger this time.

After he resolutely swore in his heart, Lin Dong finally lowered his head and looked at the jade scroll, only to see several misty and dusty words on it.

“Supreme Purity Sky Wanderer Steps.”